Phil Hay has been left confused by Everton’s pursuit of Wilfried Gnonto this summer.
Speaking on The Square Ball Podcast, the journalist admitted there are ‘mixed messages’ regarding their interest, with different stories coming from both parties.
Gnonto looks extremely likely to leave Leeds United following their relegation to the Championship and Everton are said to be one of the clubs very keen on snapping him up.
Previous reports claimed that the Toffees were leading the race for his signature, with the Daily Mail revealing that the Whites had already rejected a £15 million bid for him. However, there remains a lot of uncertainty over how concrete Everton’s approach has been.
“There is a lot of noise about Gnonto and Everton. Nobody is denying that Everton like Gnonto, but there are mixed messages on this,” Hay said.
“At the Everton end they’re saying there’s been no formal bid to Leeds. At the Leeds end they say that there was a formal approach at around £15m which was knocked back.”
MORE EVERTON STORIES
There have been a number of different rumours surrounding Gnonto and it is unclear whether he will be moving to Goodison Park, with The Athletic reporting that Leeds are desperate to keep hold of the teenager and could offer him fresh terms in a bid to keep him at the club.
Everton don’t have time to deal with a Wilfried Gnonto transfer saga
Dubbed ‘absolutely fantastic’ by Gary Neville last season, Wilfried Gnonto is definitely a player worth chasing this summer.
The winger is young, skilful and very promising – the exact kind of player that Everton need to bolster their attack.
However, one thing they don’t need over the next month or so is a never-ending transfer saga that leaves them desperately fighting for his arrival on transfer deadline day.
It already feels like the Toffees have been following Gnonto for ages and don’t seem to be getting anywhere – depending on which reports you believe.
The Premier League outfit need to get a deal wrapped up for the Italian before they end up with nothing on July 1.